1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wire harness and to a work-performing instruction apparatus therefor.
2. Description of Background Information
In manufacturing a wire harness, a plurality of electric wires is wired on a work table called a wiring plate to connect connectors to a bundle of the wired electric wires, tape them, and mount protective components thereon. The wire harness may have a complicated configuration, a large number of components may be installed on the wire harness, and the processing stages may be diverse. Therefore, various display techniques for displaying a work procedure have been proposed.
Disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 9-147641 is a technique for instructing the order of wiring the electric wires on a wiring plate and component installing positions by using visible light such as laser beams. Generally speaking, the display technique utilizes a guide apparatus capable of emitting visible light onto the wiring plate in an XY-direction to illuminate a wiring path and holding jigs of a wire harness with the visible light, in accordance with the order the electric wires are to be wired on the wiring plate. As apparent from the description in the above noted Japanese the publication, a predetermined work position is illuminated with the visible light. After the work at the displayed work position terminates, a subsequent work position is illuminated with the visible light. This procedure is repeatedly performed until the wiring harness work is completed.
However, the emission of the visible light according to the work order necessitates detection of termination of the operator""s work at each stage. Thus, a troublesome switching operation must be performed, which requires a switching detection device to have a complicated construction.
That is, in the event that there are N necessary stages for manufacturing the wire harness on the wiring plate, it is necessary to emit the visible light for each of N irradiation positions. In this case, it is necessary to detect whether the operator""s work is progressing in each stage and to input data of the progress of the work to a control unit to switch the illumination positions. Therefore, many sensors for detecting the termination of the work in each stage are required, and the detection process is complicated. That is, the conventional construction is not suitable for a wire harness that requires manufacture through many work stages.
It is conceivable to switch the illumination position with a timer. But in this case, it is necessary to set/alter switching times for each stage, which becomes complicated. In addition, if a switching time is set for each stage, a time lag may occur between an operator""s actual work time and the set time.
Further, a process for performing wiring work by use of a timer may be burdensome and unpleasant for the operator and may not necessarily improve work efficiency.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described disadvantages. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a wire harness and a work-performing instruction apparatus capable of displaying a manufacturing procedure of many stages with a simplest possible construction.
To achieve the above object, there is provided a method of instructing a procedure for manufacturing a wire harness by wiring electric wires on a wiring plate with visible light. A to-be-processed portion of the wire harness related to the procedure and a component part-accommodating portion related thereto are simultaneously illuminated in pairs with the visible light.
In the present invention, by emitting the visible light to a plurality of assembly positions simultaneously, the assembly order of each display position can be displayed. Thereby, it is possible to display the order of assembly without detecting the progress of an operator""s work at each stage. In the present invention, the word xe2x80x9csimultaneouslyxe2x80x9d is not necessarily used in the strict sense of the word, but may be used in a sense that seeing the linear locus of the visible sight, the operator understands that the to-be-processed position and a component receptacle have been displayed at the same time.
As the mode of illuminating the assembly position with the visible light, it is preferable that a plurality of positions are scanned and illuminated with a single light source. In this case, a plurality of assembly positions can be displayed simultaneously. Accordingly, an operator can perform an assembly operation without being restricted by time, and a display condition can be appropriately altered according to the progress of the operator""s work.
In another aspect of the present invention, the to-be-processed portion of the wire harness and the component part-accommodating receptacle may be illuminated simultaneously in pairs with visible light emitted by a plurality of light sources.
As another embodiment of the present invention, the visible light may be emitted by a light source to a required portion in only a standard assembly time period set in correspondence with the procedure.
As still another embodiment of the present invention, the visible light may be emitted simultaneously linearly by pivoting a light source. In this manner, the to-be-processed portion of the wire harness and the component part-accommodating portion can be illuminated in pairs with visible light of a single light source. Thus, it is possible to embody the present invention with an illumination apparatus having a comparatively simple construction.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a work-supporting instruction apparatus having a light source emitting visible light, a first holder pivotally mounting the light source on a first axis, and a light source-driving member is provided on the first holder to pivot the light source on the first axis. A second holder is provided that pivotally mounts the first holder on a second axis orthogonal to the first axis, a second holder-driving member is provided for pivoting the first holder on the second axis, and a controller is provided that controls the light source-driving member and the second holder-driving member such that a to-be-processed portion of a wire harness related to a work procedure and a component part-accommodating portion related thereto are simultaneously illuminated in pairs with the visible light.
In other aspects of the work-supporting instruction apparatus of the present invention, the to-be-processed portion may include either a portion of a wire harness or a cavity of a connector. Additionally, the apparatus may also include at least one jig mounted on a work plate to receive the connector and hold the same in a fixed position, and the jig may be operatively connected to the controller in order to feed back information to the controller regarding assembly of the component and the connector.
In this apparatus, the to-be-processed portion of the wire harness related to the work procedure and the component part-accommodating portion related thereto are illuminated simultaneously in pairs with the visible light. Therefore, the assembly order of each display position can be displayed. Preferably, an elastic member for preventing a backlash of a reduction gear connected to the light source-driving member is provided between the first holder and the light source.
In this construction, to pivot the light source, the light source-driving member is installed on the first holder, and the second holder is provided to pivotally mount the first holder thereon through the light source-driving member. Thus, the light source-driving member is cantilever-mounted on the holder-driving member. Consequently, the second holder-driving member receives the load of the light source-driving member and that of the first holder held by the second holder through the light source-driving member. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide the holder-driving member with a backlash prevention elastic member.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method of instructing a procedure for manufacturing a wire harness by wiring electric wires on a wiring plate with visible light is provided. The method includes simultaneously illuminating a plurality of work positions with the visible light, and the procedure related to each work position is displayed with an optical image formed by scanning the work positions. Additionally, the illuminating may also include emitting the visible light to provide an illumination pattern in the shape of a cross-hair.
Thus, it is possible to display the order of stages without detecting the progress of an operator""s work one by one. In the present embodiment, the word xe2x80x9csimultaneouslyxe2x80x9d is not necessarily used in the strict sense, but may be used in a sense that seeing the linear locus GA of the visible light, the operator understands that the to-be-processed position and the receptacle have been displayed at the same time. Accordingly, for example, the situation where a predetermined figure is displayed by scanning and illuminating a plurality of work positions with laser beams is included in xe2x80x9csimultaneouslyxe2x80x9d used in the present invention.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, a plurality of work positions is displayed with optical images of consecutive numerical values formed of the visible light in correspondence to the order of assembly. Thereby, sequences of assembly can be displayed simultaneously by a display made at one time.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, an outline drawing of the wire harness is displayed with an optical image formed of the visible light. Thereby, it is possible to grasp the outline of the wire harness at one glance and thus even an unskilled operator makes few errors. xe2x80x9cOutline drawingxe2x80x9d is a concept including a drawing linearly showing the wiring path of the wire harness and a drawing of the component to be installed on the wire harness. xe2x80x9cOutline drawing of wire harnessxe2x80x9d includes not only the one of the entire wire harness but also one of the sub-assemblies constituting the wire harness.
In another aspect of the present invention, a method is provided of instructing a procedure for connecting terminal ends of a component to a connector using visible light. The method includes simultaneously illuminating a terminal end receiving cavity of the connector and indicating the component to be connected thereto with the visible light.
In other aspects of the present invention, the method of instructing a procedure for connecting terminal ends of a component to a connector using visible light that is emitted simultaneously linearly by pivoting a light source, that is emitted simultaneously by a plurality of light sources, that is emitted by a light source to a required portion in only a standard assembly time period set in correspondence to the procedure, that is emitted by a light source to a required portion in only a standard assembly time period set in correspondence to the procedure, or that is emitted by a light source to a required portion in only a standard assembly time period set in correspondence to the procedure. Moreover, the visible light may also be emitted by a light source to provide an illumination pattern in the shape of a cross-hair.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the method of instructing a procedure for connecting terminal ends of a component to a connector using visible light may also include providing at least one jig having a portion for receiving the connector, emitting the visible light from a motor actuated light source to selectively illuminate any one of a plurality of terminal end receiving cavities in the connector, and controlling, with a control unit, actuation of the motor actuated light source to enable the selective illumination of the cavities in the connector, and simultaneously controlling, with the control unit, indicating the selected component to be connected to the connector. Additionally, the indicating of the component may include emitting light from a light source provided on a receptacle that houses the selected component simultaneously with the visible light emitted from the motor actuated light source.
In other aspects of the method of instructing a procedure for connecting terminal ends of a component to a connector using visible light of the present invention, the control unit may respond to insertion of a first terminal end of the component into the illuminated cavity to actuate the motor actuated light source to indicate another connector cavity into which a second terminal end is to be inserted and to simultaneously indicate a next component to be selected for connecting to the connector. Additionally, the control unit may also respond to insertion of a second terminal end into the another cavity to restart the instructing of the procedure until all desired components have been connected to appropriate connectors.